A City Icon: Isabel Jordan On 28 February 2008, four years after the death of Isabel Jordan, Caloundra City Council named an area of bushland reserve in her honour for her enormous contribution to the local community and to conservation. Caloundra City Mayor Don Smith said the naming of the Isabel Jordan Bushland Reserve, on Caloundra Road at Little Mountain, followed a suggestion from the local branch of the Wildlife Preservation Society of . ‘The naming of the Isabel Jordan Bushland Reserve is a fitting tribute to a woman who contributed so much to our City – and who I knew well’.

The 4-hectare reserve lies either side of Pathfinder Drive at the entrance to the and the Queensland Air Museum.

Born in 1922 and after many challenging life experiences, Helen Isabel Jordan and her husband Frank moved to Caloundra in the 1970s. Isabel, as she was known, joined WPSQ in 1978 and served as Treasurer, President and Vice-President. She became a member of the Sunshine Coast Environment Council and the Golden Beach Progress Association, and in 1981 was an inaugural member of the Landsborough Shire (later Caloundra & District) Action Group. Isabel was also a foundation member of the Estuarine Research Group (later merged with the Australian Littoral Society – now the Australian Marine Conservation Society).

On Frank’s illness, she became a founding member of the Caloundra Hospital Improvement Committee at a time when the hospital had just seven beds. Isabel helped organise 10,500 signatures on a petition to improve facilities at the Hospital, and subsequently contributed as a member of the Caloundra Hospital Auxiliary Group.

Volunteer work continued with Meals on Wheels for 15 years, and at the opportunity shop for 14 years.

Isabel was a member of the community-based Bicentennial Committee and an active contributor to the Caloundra Friends of the Library and the Library’s Learning Cooperative.

Her passion for cultural knowledge also encompassed memberships with the Queensland Theatre Group, U3A and the Reading Group.

Isabel was characterised as ‘a lady of great integrity, and her community activism and letter writing skills helped so many. She took many causes to heart and worked tirelessly to achieve positive outcomes. Isabel wrote may letters in her lifetime and even when she was very passionate about a cause she was never nasty or mean; she was the true embodiment of the phrase “The pen is mightier than the sword”.’

Isabel Jordan’s many awards: 1994: Caloundra City Council Citizen of the Year Award, and the Premier’s Award 1995: Sunshine Coast Environment Award 1998: Honorary Life Membership of WPSQ (…a Quiet Achiever working tirelessly for the environment, sitting in the Gallery during Council meetings, and writing a barrage of letters to the Town Clerk…part of her success was because ‘I can talk under wet cement’). 2000: Queensland Health Certificate of Appreciation (in acknowledgement of her valuable contribution as a volunteer) 2001: Commonwealth Recognition Award for Senior Australians (recognising the significant contribution of Isabel Jordan to the community of the Sunshine Coast) 2001: International Year of the Volunteer Volunteer’s Award (from Queensland Health for her contribution to the District Health Service) 2001: A Caloundra City Icon (for outstanding community service to the community of the ).

Sources: digitised document [Isabel Jordan: [Helen Isabel Jordan nee Greenway 3/9/1922- 24/12/2004) published Caloundra, Heritage Unit, 2004: http://imagelibrary.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/imagelibrary/79680064.pdf and the Names Origin Directory on the Sunshine Coast Council website: https://wcms.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/Experience-Sunshine-Coast/Beaches-and- Parks/Name-Origins-Directory?PageNumber=8

[It’s worth reading the full version of the extraordinary life of Isabel, via the image library link above]